European Throwdown: Overeem-Goodridge in Works

MMA seems reminiscent of boxing as of late in that superfights for
true No. 1 status have been few and far between. Every time a mega
bout does happen though, both fans and the industry are on the edge
of their seats.

Polish promotion KSW has managed to put together such a dream fight
for Europe at KSW “Extra” on Sept. 13 in DÄ…browa GÃ³rnicza.

In one corner Mamed Khalidov, the promotion’s superstar, has reeled
off eleven straight victories and only had to go the distance once
in doing so. The 27-year-old Chechen wrestler combines excellent
submission skills with an improving standup game, earning his
nickname “Cannibal” by aggressively going after his opponents in
the ring.

Spanish standout Daniel
Tabera(Pictures) will stand across the ring from
Khalidov. The man from seaport city Valencia has been in the game
for over six years and has fought all over the world, including
Russia, the U.S. and Japan. Despite being a natural middleweight,
Tabera has fought all the way up to heavyweight in the past and
sported an undefeated record until judges handed him a dubious loss
in Russia last spring when he faced Roman
Zentsov(Pictures). Even Fedor
Emelianenko(Pictures), a training partner to Zentsov,
publicly said that he thought that Tabera had won.

Both fighters are recognized among the top five 205-pound fighters
in Europe.

“I knew him from M-1 only, but when I saw his record on
Sherdog.com, I thought I am glad we will see each other in the
ring,” said Khalidov of Tabera. “He is a very good fighter and it
will be a very tough bout.”

Tabera seemed in agreement.

“Khalidov has already demonstrated that he is a top fighter, not
only because of his amount of victories, but also with the quality
of them, so I am sure that this will be a very, very tough
fight.”

Overeem-Goodridge goes for Glory

Ever-expanding Dutch promotion Glory (formerly known as Ultimate
Glory before a Zuffa lawsuit) is trying to arrange arguably the
biggest fight in their two-year history by matching up reigning
Strikeforce heavyweight champion Alistair
Overeem(Pictures) with K-1 and Pride veteran
Gary
Goodridge(Pictures) at their Nov. 11 show.

Overeem will first face Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic at Dream 6 on
Sept. 23 at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan.

“The fight is 90 percent sure,” Overeem said of the Goodridge tilt.
“I plan on staying very busy this fall and winter with the upcoming
fight against ‘Cro Cop,’ then the bout against ‘Big Daddy’ and a
possible battle on New Year’s Eve to top off the year.”

The only stumbling block for a Overeem-Goodridge clash could be
Dream offering an even more interesting bout for the 28-year-old
kickboxer on the show they are trying to put together in
November.

French actor Jean
Francois Lenogue(Pictures) will take on local hero Lubomir
Guedjev for the vacant middleweight belt at the World Freefight
Challenge on Sept. 27 in Sofia, Bulgaria.

Both men have competed for the WFC in the past with Lenogue
knocking out Gracie Barra black belt Igor Araujo and submitting
Arslanbeck Ashkarov. Guedjev split a pair of bouts with Novo Uniao
Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt Fabricio
Nascimento(Pictures) and Italian San Da stylist
Michele Verginelli. Just like last year, Lenogue will be very busy
this fall, having already accepted another fight three weeks later
at “Hell Cage” on Oct. 19 in Prague, Czech Republic.

Casimir, who recently scored a big win over Shinji
Sasaki(Pictures) at “Shooto Tradition” in Japan,
is the pre-fight favorite to win the 155-pound tournament. The
28-year-old Haute Tension fighter will take on Finnish submission
specialist Anton Kuivanen, who comes down from welterweight to be
part of the tournament in one of the semifinals. In the other
bracket, local hero Vaclav Pribyl squares off against well-rounded
Irishman Kevin McAlonan.

In the 185-pound tournament, Lenogue will start against Tomas
Kuzela, from Gladiators Prague. Even though the Czech fighter has
dropped his last three straight, he possesses some serious knockout
power and has put some solid competition to sleep with single
punches. Austria’s David Marcina and Finland’s Teemu Inkeroinen
will fight in the second semifinal.

German welterweight Daniel Weichel will challenge Englishman
Peter
Irving(Pictures) for the Strike & Submit
European welterweight title in the promotion’s eighth event on Oct.
26. Weichel recently spent some time at Gracie Fusion in Rio de
Janeiro to sharpen his already strong jiu-jitsu game. The
23-year-old Hessian has gone 3-3 over his last six fights, after
getting knocked out by UK standouts Paul Daley(Pictures) and Dan Hardy(Pictures), as well as Dutchman Jason
Jones.

Irving, who hails from Newcastle in northeastern England, has put
his slump behind him and is undefeated in his last five fights. He
stopped a trio of fellow countrymen and won a decision over highly
regarded Swedish wrestler Reza Madadi.

The bout promises to be a lot closer than many people on both sides
of the English Channel think though. Weichel should hold a distinct
advantage once the fight hits the mat. At the same time the young
German’s chin is still suspect and he has had a tendency to walk
straight into standing knee strikes in the past. Couple that with
the Brit’s striking talent and durability and you have a war in the
making.

For more mixed martial arts news coverage in the German
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